Ashley lived with her parents who were very poor. Ashley was 12 years old and the eldest among her two sisters. Her younger sister was eight and the youngest was five.

Her father was a labourer and her mother used to sew clothes. They were so poor that they hardly had enough money for food. They lived in a dirty, old house that had one bedroom, a bathroom and no kitchen. They used to cook food outside the house.

Most of the time, Ashley’s mother refused to eat so that her daughters could get something to eat. Ashley’s father wanted his daughters to study so that they could live a better life than their parents did.

Ashley went to school where she was good in studies and a responsible girl. Ashley had good friends, but they did not have any financial issues like her. They always wore expensive and branded clothes. Sometimes her father would buy some clothes for his daughters, but it was difficult for him to save money to buy clothes for them frequently.

Ashley’s friends didn’t know that she was poor and had so many problems. One day, one of her friends arranged a party and invited Ashley too.

When Ashley went to her friend’s house to attend the party, all of her friends had smart phones and were taking pictures.

One of her friends asked her, “Ashley! Where is your mobile?”

“My younger sister broke it,” Ashley lied because she didn’t have one and did not want others to look down at her.

After attending the party, when Ashley came back home, she started crying. Her mother asked the reason behind her tears and she told her that she wanted a mobile phone, expensive clothes, a modern house and a lavish lifestyle. She wanted her friends to think she was rich too.

Her mother asked, “My dear! Why do you want to become rich?” Ashley replied, “So that everyone could love me,” Ashley answered.

Her mother replied, “My child! Listen to me. Being rich isn’t important. People think that the one with more money will get all rights and others will love them, but this is not true. People will like you if you are caring and loving.”

Ashley said, “My friends do not know about my home and background but if they do, they will stop liking me and I don’t want that to happen.”

Her mother assured her, “My love! If you are nice to people, they will like you. If you are good from inside, no one will hate you even if you are ugly or poor. Let me give you an example. You won’t touch a banana if it looks overripe from outside because of its colour and texture. But sometimes when you peel it, you see a healthy banana from inside which gives you health and nutrition. So it is the banana one wants, not the peel,” she explained. “So, it does not matter how ugly or poor you are. You are a human and you have the right to live like everyone else.”

Ashley understood what her mother wanted to say. She learnt an important lesson that day that it does not matter how you look from outside or how you live on the outside. What matters is how you are from the inside.

Published in Dawn, Young World, April 4th, 2020